High school graduates, by sex and control of school: Selected years, 1869-70 through 2019-20

School year

High school graduates

Averaged freshman graduation rate for public schools3

Population 17 years old4

Graduates as a ratio of 17-year-old population

Total1

Sex

Control

Males

Females

Public2

Private

Total

Males

Females

Total

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

1869-70

16,000

7,064

8,936

—

—

—

—

—

815,000

2.0

1879-80

23,634

10,605

13,029

—

—

—

—

—

946,026

2.5

1889-90

43,731

18,549

25,182

21,882

—

—

21,849

5

—

1,259,177

3.5

1899-1900

94,883

38,075

56,808

61,737

—

—

33,146

5

—

1,489,146

6.4

1909-10

156,429

63,676

92,753

111,363

—

—

45,066

5

—

1,786,240

8.8

1919-20

311,266

123,684

187,582

230,902

—

—

80,364

5

—

1,855,173

16.8

1929-30

666,904

300,376

366,528

591,719

—

—

75,185

5

—

2,295,822

29.0

1939-40

1,221,475

578,718

642,757

1,143,246

538,273

604,973

78,229

5

—

2,403,074

50.8

1949-50

1,199,700

570,700

629,000

1,063,444

505,394

558,050

136,256

5

—

2,034,450

59.0

1959-60

1,858,023

895,000

963,000

1,627,050

791,426

835,624

230,973

—

2,672,000

69.5

1969-70

2,888,639

1,430,000

1,459,000

2,588,639

1,285,895

1,302,744

300,000

5

78.7

3,757,000

76.9

1970-71

2,937,642

1,454,000

1,484,000

2,637,642

1,309,319

1,328,323

300,000

5

78.0

3,872,000

75.9

1971-72

3,001,553

1,487,000

1,515,000

2,699,553

1,342,275

1,357,278

302,000

5

77.4

3,973,000

75.5

1972-73

3,034,822

1,500,000

1,535,000

2,728,822

1,352,416

1,376,406

306,000

5

76.8

4,049,000

75.0

1973-74

3,073,314

1,512,000

1,561,000

2,763,314

1,362,565

1,400,749

310,000

5

75.4

4,132,000

74.4

1974-75

3,132,502

1,542,000

1,591,000

2,822,502

1,391,519

1,430,983

310,000

5

74.9

4,256,000

73.6

1975-76

3,142,120

1,552,000

1,590,000

2,837,129

1,401,064

1,436,065

304,991

74.9

4,272,000

73.6

1976-77

3,139,536

1,551,000

1,589,000

2,837,340

—

—

302,196

74.4

4,272,000

73.5

1977-78

3,128,824

1,546,000

1,583,000

2,824,636

—

—

304,188

73.2

4,286,000

73.0

1978-79

3,101,152

1,532,000

1,569,000

2,801,152

—

—

300,000

5

71.9

4,327,000

71.7

1979-80

3,042,214

1,503,000

1,539,000

2,747,678

—

—

294,536

71.5

4,262,000

71.4

1980-81

3,020,285

1,492,000

1,528,000

2,725,285

—

—

295,000

5

72.2

4,212,000

71.7

1981-82

2,994,758

1,479,000

1,515,000

2,704,758

—

—

290,000

5

72.9

4,134,000

72.4

1982-83

2,887,604

1,426,000

1,461,000

2,597,604

—

—

290,000

5

73.8

3,962,000

72.9

1983-84

2,766,797

—

—

2,494,797

—

—

272,000

5

74.5

3,784,000

73.1

1984-85

2,676,917

—

—

2,413,917

—

—

263,000

5

74.2

3,699,000

72.4

1985-86

2,642,616

—

—

2,382,616

—

—

260,000

5

74.3

3,670,000

72.0

1986-87

2,693,803

—

—

2,428,803

—

—

265,000

5

74.3

3,754,000

71.8

1987-88

2,773,020

—

—

2,500,020

—

—

273,000

5

74.2

3,849,000

72.0

1988-89

2,743,743

—

—

2,458,800

—

—

284,943

73.4

3,842,000

71.4

1989-90

2,574,162

—

—

2,320,337

—

—

253,825

6

73.6

3,505,000

73.4

1990-91

2,492,988

—

—

2,234,893

—

—

258,095

73.7

3,417,913

72.9

1991-92

2,480,399

—

—

2,226,016

—

—

254,383

6

74.2

3,398,884

73.0

1992-93

2,480,519

—

—

2,233,241

—

—

247,278

73.8

3,449,143

71.9

1993-94

2,463,849

—

—

2,220,849

—

—

243,000

5

73.1

3,442,521

71.6

1994-95

2,519,084

—

—

2,273,541

—

—

245,543

71.8

3,635,803

69.3

1995-96

2,518,109

—

—

2,273,109

—

—

245,000

5

71.0

3,640,132

69.2

1996-97

2,611,988

—

—

2,358,403

—

—

253,585

71.3

3,792,207

68.9

1997-98

2,704,050

—

—

2,439,050

1,187,647

1,251,403

265,000

5

71.3

4,008,416

67.5

1998-99

2,758,655

—

—

2,485,630

1,212,924

1,272,706

273,025

71.1

3,917,885

70.4

1999-2000

2,832,844

—

—

2,553,844

1,241,631

1,312,213

279,000

5

71.7

4,056,639

69.8

2000-01

2,847,973

—

—

2,569,200

1,251,931

1,317,269

278,773

71.7

4,023,686

70.8

2001-02

2,906,534

—

—

2,621,534

1,275,813

1,345,721

285,000

5

72.6

4,023,968

72.2

2002-03

3,015,735

—

—

2,719,947

1,330,973

1,388,974

295,788

73.9

4,125,087

73.1

2003-047

3,054,438

—

—

2,753,438

1,347,800

1,405,638

301,000

5

74.3

4,113,074

74.3

2004-05

3,106,499

—

—

2,799,250

1,369,749

1,429,501

307,249

74.7

4,120,073

75.4

2005-06

3,122,544

—

—

2,815,544

1,376,458

1,439,086

307,000

5

73.4

4,200,554

74.3

2006-07

3,198,956

—

—

2,892,351

1,413,738

1,478,613

306,605

73.9

4,297,239

74.4

2007-08

3,313,818

—

—

2,999,508

1,466,303

1,533,205

314,310

5

74.7

4,436,955

74.7

2008-098

3,318,770

—

—

3,004,570

—

—

314,200

74.7

4,336,950

76.5

2009-108

3,306,220

—

—

2,991,310

—

—

314,910

75.6

4,311,831

76.7

2010-118

3,251,720

—

—

2,937,170

—

—

314,550

—

—

—

2011-128

3,221,990

—

—

2,905,990

—

—

316,000

—

—

—

2012-138

3,200,130

—

—

2,890,740

—

—

309,390

—

—

—

2013-148

3,176,300

—

—

2,868,100

—

—

308,200

—

—

—

2014-158

3,170,560

—

—

2,872,470

—

—

298,090

—

—

—

2015-168

3,201,060

—

—

2,906,330

—

—

294,730

—

—

—

2016-178

3,223,000

—

—

2,933,220

—

—

289,780

—

—

—

2017-188

3,273,690

—

—

2,988,630

—

—

285,060

—

—

—

2018-198

3,265,020

—

—

2,984,530

—

—

280,490

—

—

—

2019-208

3,245,900

—

—

2,953,060

—

—

292,840

—

—

—

—Not available.

1 Includes graduates of public and private schools.

2 Data for 1929-30 and preceding years are from Statistics of Public High Schools and exclude graduates from high schools that failed to report to the Office of Education. Includes estimates for jurisdictions not reporting counts of graduates by sex.

3 The averaged freshman graduation rate provides an estimate of the percentage of students who receive a regular diploma within 4 years of entering ninth grade. The rate uses aggregate student enrollment data to estimate the size of an incoming freshman class and aggregate counts of the number of diplomas awarded 4 years later. Averaged freshman graduation rates in this table are based on reported totals of enrollment by grade and high school graduates, rather than on details reported by race/ethnicity.

4 Derived from Current Population Reports, Series P-25. For years 1869-70 through 1989-90, 17-year-old population is an estimate of the October 17-year-old population based on July data. Data for 1990-91 and later years are October resident population estimates prepared by the Census Bureau.

5 Estimated.

6 Projected by private schools.

7 Includes estimates for New York and Wisconsin. Without estimates for these two states, the averaged freshman graduation rate for the remaining 48 states and the District of Columbia is 75.0 percent.

8 Projected by NCES.

NOTE: Includes graduates of regular day school programs. Excludes graduates of other programs, when separately reported, and recipients of high school equivalency certificates. Some data have been revised from previously published figures. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Annual Report of the Commissioner of Education, 1870 through 1910; Biennial Survey of Education in the United States, 1919-20 through 1949-50; Statistics of State School Systems, 1951-52 through 1957-58; Statistics of Public Elementary and Secondary School Systems, 1958-59 through 1980-81; Statistics of Nonpublic Elementary and Secondary Schools, 1959 through 1980; Common Core of Data (CCD), "State Nonfiscal Survey of Public Elementary/Secondary Education," 1981-82 through 2008-09; Private School Universe Survey (PSS), 1989 through 2007; and Projections of Education Statistics to 2019. U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, Population Estimates, retrieved August 12, 2010, from http://www.census.gov/popest/related.html. (This table was prepared August 2010.)